In the middle of the town is a large square, and four bazaars branch from it through to the gates; the garrison is placed without the walls. The manufactures of Kashgar excel those of any other town in the two Circuits, especially in jade, gold, silk, cotton, gold and silver cloths, and carpets. The country around produces fruit and grain in abundance; “the manners of the people have an appearance of elegance and politeness,” says the Chinese geographer; “the women dance and sing in family parties; they fear and respect the officers, and have not the wild, uncultivated aspect of those in Ushí.” This judgment is in a measure confirmed by Bellew, who credits the people with being singularly free from prejudice against the foreigners, quite indifferent on any score of his nationality or religion, and content so long as he pays his way and does not offend the customs of the natives. Several towns are subordinate to Kashgar, because of its oversight of their rulers, and consumption of their products. Southwest lies Tash-balig, and on the road leading to Yarkand is Yangi Hissar, both of them towns of some importance; the whole distance from Kashgar presents a succession of sandy or saline tracts, alternating with fertile bottoms wherever water runs. Small villages and post houses serve to connect the larger towns, but the soil does not reward the cultivators with much produce.
THE CITY OF YARKAND.
Yarkand, or Yerkiang, is the political capital of the Southern Circuit, as the highest military officers and strongest force are stationed here. It is situated on the Yarkand River, in lat. 36° 30′ N., and long. 77° 15′ E., in the midst of a sand-girt oasis of great fertility. The environs are abundantly supplied with water by canals. The stone walls are three miles in circumference, but its suburbs are much larger; the houses are built of dried bricks, and the town has a more substantial appearance than others in Ílí. There are many mosques and colleges, which, with the public buildings occupied by the government and troops, add to its consideration. Yarkand is one of the ancient cities of Tartary, and was, in remote times, a royal residence of Turk princes of the Afrasyab dynasty. In modern times it owes its rank as a well-built city chiefly to Abubahr Miza, whose short-lived sway from Aksu to Wakhan left its chief results in the mosques and bazaars erected or enlarged by him. By means of quarrying jade in the Karakash valley, and working the bangles, ear-rings and other articles in the city, thousands of families found employment under Chinese rule.
With the overthrow of that sway and then of Yakub khan in its restoration, all this industry disappeared. In the destruction ensuing on these long struggles for supremacy, one learns the explanation of the barbarism which has succeeded the downfall of mighty empires all over Western Asia. The city has no important manufactures; it enjoys a local reputation for its leather, and boots and shoes made here are esteemed all over the province. Among other articles of trade are horses, silk, and wool, and fabrics made from them; but everything found at Kashgar is sold also at this market. In a Chinese notice of the city, the customs at Yarkand are stated to have yielded over $45,000 annually; the taxes are 35,400 sacks of grain, 57,569 pieces of linen, 15,000 lbs. of copper, besides gold, silk, varnish, and hemp, part of which are carried to Ílí. Jade is obtained from the river in large pieces, yellow, white, black, and reddish, and the articles made from it are carried to China. The Chinese authorities have no objection to the resorting thither of natives of Kokand, Badakshan, and other neighboring states, many of whom settle and marry.
Khoten is situated on the southern side of the desert, and the district embraces all the country south of Aksu and Yarkand, along the northern base of the Kwănlun Mountains, for more than three hundred miles from east to west. The capital is called Ílchí on Chinese maps, and lies in an extensive plain on the Khoten River in lat. 37° N., and long. 80° E. The town of Karakash (meaning ‘Black Jade’)[125] lies in lat. 37° 10′, long. 80° 13′ 30″, a few miles northwest in the same valley, and is said by traders to be the capital rather than Ílchí; it is located on the road to Yarkand, distant twelve days’ journey. On this road the town of Gummí is also placed, whose chief had in his possession a stone supposed to have the power of causing rain. Kirrea lies five days’ journey east of Ílchí, near the pass across the mountains into Tibet and Ladak; a gold mine is worked near this place, the produce of which is monopolized by the Chinese. The three towns of Karakash, Ílchí, and Kirrea, are the only places of importance between the valley of the Tarim and Tibet, but none of them have been visited for a long time by Europeans.[126] The population of the town or district is unknown; one notice[127] gives it a very large number, approaching three millions and even more, which at any rate indicates a more fertile soil and genial climate than the regions north and south of it. Dr. Morrison, in his View of China, puts it at 44,630 inhabitants; and although the former includes the whole district, and is probably too large, the second seems to be much too small.
KHOTEN DISTRICT.
Khoten is known, in Chinese books, by the names of Yu-tien, Hwan-na, Kieu-tan, and Kiu-sa-tan-na—the last meaning, in Sanscrit, “Breast of the Earth.”[128] Its eastern part is marshy, but that the country must have a considerable elevation is manifest from the fact that the river which drains and connects it with the Tarim runs quite across the desert in its course. The country is governed by two high officers and a detachment of troops; there are six towns under their jurisdiction, the inhabitants of which are ruled in the same manner as the other Mohammedan cities. The people, however, are said to be mostly of the Buddhist faith, and the Chinese give a good account of their peacefulness and industry. The trade with Leh and H’lassa is carried on by a road crossing the Kwănlun over the Kirrea Pass, beyond which it divides. The productions of Khoten are fine linen and cotton stuffs, jade ornaments, amber, copper, grain, fruits, and vegetables; the former for exportation, the latter for use. It was in this region that Col. Prejevalsky discovered (in 1879) a new variety of wild horse, a specimen of which has been stuffed and exhibited in St. Petersburg. The animal in question, though belonging undoubtedly to the genus Equus, presents, in many respects, an intermediate form between the domestic horse and the wild ass.
Rémusat published, in 1820, an account of this country, drawn from Chinese books, in which the principal events in its history are stated, commencing with the Han dynasty, before the Christian era, down to the Manchu conquest. In the early part of its history, Khoten was the resort of many priests from India, and the Buddhist faith was early established there. It was an independent kingdom most of the time, from its earliest mention to the era of Genghis khan, the princes sometimes extending their sway from the Kiayü pass and Koko-nor to the Tsung ling, and then being obliged to contract to the valley now designated as Khoten. After the expulsion of the Mongols from China, Khoten asserted its independence, but afterward fell under the sway of the Songares and Eleuths, and lost many of its inhabitants. The Manchus conquered it in 1770, when the rest of the region between the Tien shan and Kwănlun fell under their sway, but neither have they settled in it to the same extent, nor made thereof a penal settlement, as in other parts of Ílí.[129]